Method for teaching a golf swing using simple thought imagery and very limited body awareness

ABSTRACT

A method for teaching a person to effectively swing a golf club includes establishing a pivot line or imaginary plane used by the golfer during both the setup and swing phase of a golf swing. A hand line is established when the person feels when gripping the club. A nose line awareness is created by the natural, vertical line existing between the golfer&#39;s eyes. A foot line is also established for the golfer&#39;s awareness of releasing or shifting his weight at the proper time. The method emphasizes how these reference lines align relative to the ball during setup and impact and involves first visualizing the pivot line extending beneath the ball and perpendicular to the intended line of flight. The pivot line provides a simple frame of reference for alignment of the club face, hands, feet, waist, head; and a natural plane for the golfer&#39;s body to turn and pivot around. At the beginning of each swing the golfer&#39;s phinge line is aligned straight along the pivot line and his nose line is set behind the pivot line. During his swing, the golfer&#39;s thought is to return his power hinge line straight along the pivot line at impact, and then release his nose line or foot line after his hand line passes the pivot line. Practice aids such as a quick reference guide incorporating the unique mental golf imagery techniques are used to help facilitate learning and actually experiencing the method.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/647,879, filed Jan. 28, 2005.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention is related to the teaching of the golf swing to players of all skill levels; including those just learning how to play the game, and those with playing experience. Please note that the description and accompanying drawings presented herein are oriented for a right-handed golfer.

BACKGROUND ART

in general, training someone to hit a golf ball requires teaching that person a series of skills. These include:

how to grip a club;

stance and posture when addressing the ball:

ball position relative to the person's stance;

backswing; and,

forward or through swing.

Anyone who has spent any time trying to learn the game soon begins to understand that there are a plethora of different teaching methods. Different approaches are touted in any number of different books and magazines, television shows, videos and DVDs. The primary notion of good swing form, good club shaft swing plane, good body rotation, keeping hands, arms and hips in-sync (tempo), etc, are staples of most teaching methods. Because of the amount of information available, and the myriad of ways in which it is presented, it is easy for someone to become confused about what they are supposed to do, and how they are supposed to do it. Even teaching methods that claim to be simple to learn and easy to apply turn out not to be. The end result, particularly for the casual golfer, is endless rounds of frustration. As someone once pointed out, golf is a voluntary activity, and as such, is supposed to be an enjoyable experience. However, for many people it is not. The following illustrates this point:

To paraphrase an anonymous author, once a player has mastered the grip and stance, all he has to bear in mind, in the brief two-second interval it takes to swing, is to keep his left elbow pointed in toward the left hip and his right arm loose and closer to the body than the left; then, as he starts his swing, take the club head past his right knee and then break the wrists at just the right instant while the left arm is still traveling straight back from the ball; the right arm stays glued to the body and the hips come around in a perfect circle. Meanwhile, his weight must be 60% on his right foot and 40% on his left foot. At just the right point in the turn, his left knee bends in toward his right knee a dragging motion, until the left heel comes off the ground; but not too far. The hands must pass over the right foot, but not more over the toe than the heel; except that the left side of the right foot is tilted off the ground, but not too far. At the completion of the backswing, the hands are high and the club shaft points along a line parallel with the ground (and if it's a downhill lie the shaft is supposed to be pointed downhill, too). Now, pause at the top of the swing and count one. Then, jerk the left arm straight down like a bell ringer yanking a belfry rope, but don't uncock the wrists too soon, and pull the left hip around in a circle, but don't let the shoulders turn with the hips because they have to be facing the hole. Now, transfer 60% of the weight to the left foot while 40% remains on right foot. Simultaneously, tilt the left foot now so the right side of it is straight because you are supposed to hit against a firm left side. Remember to watch out for the left hand, it's supposed to be extended, but not too stiff, or the shot won't go anywhere. Also, don't let the hand get loose or you will hook. Let the wrists uncock, but don't force them or you'll smother the shot; and don't break them too soon, but keep your head down and then hit the ball.

As can be appreciated from the above, the enormous frustration experienced by most golfer's, including world class athletes from other sports, begins when they are asked to learn about keeping their head down, their left arm straight, their right hand from being too active, and striving to swing the club along a conventional swing plane (one plane or two swing planes). By comparison, the method of the present invention is easy to learn and master for golfers of all skill levels, especially newcomers to the game. It also greatly reduces the amount of practice time required to learn and maintain a good golf swing. The method does not guarantee that every shot or stroke will be “perfect”, but it does produce acceptable results to golfers of all skill levels by applying the same method to each golf shot.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, referred to as Golfs Magic Lines™ is a method for greatly simplifying the teaching of golf. The method is advantageous in that it is oriented to reducing the enormous number of things a golfer has been taught to think about to no more than two or three. Using the method, a student can quickly learn about certain reference lines which he then can use to sharply limit his focus on every golf swing from a full shot with a driver to a short putt with a putter.

Specifically, the golfer learns about a pivot line plane (Pivot Line awareness), a gripping line (Hand Line awareness), head position (Nose Line awareness), and weight transfer (Toe Line awareness). Using these simple concepts, a golfer's ball position, grip alignment, stance, and posture are felt and known automatically. The actual swinging of the hands (club) and thought processes related to that swing, are then reduced to staying focused only on these few key awareness points. As a result, use of the method significantly narrows the golfer's mental and physical focus to a few core reference lines: i.e., awareness of the “Pivot Line”, a plane which the player can readily visualize, a “Hand Line” awareness which the player can readily feel, a “Nose Line” awareness which the player can readily feel, and a “Toe Line” awareness which the player can also readily feel. Furthermore, these core references lines are readily integrated into two or three key swing thoughts which permit the golfer to separate himself from thinking about conventional swing mechanics and the moment of striking a golf ball.

Importantly, the method of the invention connects a golfer's brain, eyes, hands, and lower torso together in a coordinated fashion. Once the golfer understands and experiences using these natural reference lines and swing thoughts, they begin to produce a fundamentally sound and repeating golf swing. These core reference lines are used in every golf swing, from any location on a golf course, and from any lie, to produce an acceptable result. As such, the method of the invention has the advantage of greatly reducing the complex manner in which golf is ordinarily taught with, over time, the core swing thoughts becoming powerful auto-suggestions.

Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects of the invention are achieved as set forth in the illustrative embodiments shown in the drawings which form a part of the specification.

FIG. 1 illustrates the four lines of golf according to the method of the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a golfer's setup and stance using the lines;

FIG. 3 illustrates the relation between a golfer and the various lines during his backswing and forward swing;

FIG. 4 is a representation of a first sheet used by a golfer during practice or play and on which is shown the various lines used with the method;

FIG. 5 illustrates a golf swing from the address through finish positions showing the relative positions of the lines throughout the swing; and,

FIG. 6 is a representation of a second sheet used by a golfer during practice or play and on which is shown the various lines used with the method.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

BEST MODES OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The following detailed description illustrates the invention by way of example and not by way of limitation. This description will clearly enable one skilled in the art (i.e. golf professionals) to make and use the invention, and describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives and uses of the invention, including what I presently believe is the best mode of carrying out the invention. As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not limiting.

As noted previously, the following description and accompanying drawings is for a right-handed golfer. For a left-handed golfer, the drawings would be reversed.

In accordance with the present invention, the method of the present invention for teaching a golf swing takes four basic reference lines and incorporates them into two or three key swing goals. Referring to FIG. 1, the first reference line is a visual line referred to as the pivot line PL which a golfer can readily visualize as he swings. It is generally accepted that during a golf swing, a golf ball B is merely an incident in the way of the club head as the club is swung along an intended line of flight. However, it has been well demonstrated that a golfer makes a different, more relaxed, practice swing than the swing he makes when confronted with actually hitting the golf ball. In accordance with the method of the invention, thinking about or focusing on the golf ball is replaced with the mental image of swinging one's hands back square to an imaginary plane, referred to as the pivot line plane PLP. The pivot line plane is a vertical plane extending upwardly from the ground at the point where the clubface arrives at ball at impact. It is a natural plane for a golfer's eyes to focus on, his body to pivot around, and his hands to return squarely to at impact.

Again referring to FIG. 1, the next line used in the method is referred to as the hand line HL. Hand line HL is naturally felt when the player grips a golf club. Hand line awareness is a feeling of the line or seam formed in the fingers and palms of both hands when the club is gripped. It will be understood that the grip can be any grip used by a golfer; these typically being referred to as the interlocking, overlap or Vardon grip, and baseball or ten finger grip. Because these grips are well-known, they will not be described in detail. In general, however, for a proper grip, when viewed by the golfer from above, 2 or 3 knuckles of the golfer's left hand are usually visible by him when the clubbed is gripped, and the thumb of the left hand is set just to the right side of the grip. The grip then rests in the fingers and palm of the right hand when it is placed on the club, and the right hand thumb generally points toward the golfer's right shoulder. When gripping the club, the arms hang down naturally from the shoulder, and both the arms and hands are relaxed. With respect to the method of the invention, it has been found that the hand line concept works particularly well with people who use a ten finger grip, because it provides the most power from the right hand.

Focused awareness and feeling the hand line HL is a key of the method of the invention. Narrowing a golfer's awareness to the hand line has been found to be more important than trying to think about the club head, or the club's swing path. This is because there is a neurological connection between the hand line and the brain, as opposed to the club head and the brain, since the hands are in contact with the grip of club and not the head of the club. Accordingly, the hand line serves to focus the golfer's mind on one key body part, rather than number of correct body motions. With a proper grip, the hands and club face are properly aligned with each other and hand line HL provides a natural reference for aligning the hands and club with the ball's intended line of flight. Since the hands control the club during a golf swing, by focusing on and feeling the hand line throughout the swing, the brain-hands connection will be in control, and the golfer now need only be aware of one or two other tasks during the swing. Further, this awareness encourages a natural hinging of the wrist in the backswing, and release of the hands (and club) during the forward swing.

Still referring to FIG. 1, a third lines is the nose line NL, which is a naturally occurring reference line formed by the golfer's nose. Nose line NL provides a simple reference line by which the golfer aligns his head position at address, and then manages his head movement throughout the swing. During setup, the golfer simply sets his nose line to the right of pivot line PL. Conventionally, this is referred to as setting one's body “behind the ball” at address. In accordance with the method, the golfer now focuses on keeping his nose line NL behind pivot line PL until after hand line HL passes through the pivot line plane PLP on the forward swing. Then, the nose line releases naturally towards the target point. Because a person's nose line is situated directly between their eyes, there is no longer any need for them to concern oneself about keeping their head down, not looking up, or how far the head moves in the backswing (side-to-side, up-and-down, or a combination of these moves). By reducing the player's focus to keeping the nose line relatively stable (“quiet”) and behind the pivot line until after the hand line passes through pivot line plane, the golfer will properly shift his weight to his right side during the backswing, and then properly shift it to his left side on the forward swing.

Finally, and as again shown in FIG. 1, there is a reference line formed by the golfer's right foot and referred to as their Toe Line FL. Toe Line FL provides another reference line (in addition to nose line NL) which facilitates the golfer keeping his weight behind the ball during a swing. As with the nose line, toe line FL awareness can be incorporated into the golfer's core swing thoughts to encourage a natural body rotation.

Traditionally, a key segment of the swing path has been referred to as the target line. This is indicated TL in FIG. 1. This line defines the direction between ball B and an intended target point TP. For most golfers, it is commonplace to set up to swing along this target line and focus on hitting the ball with a swinging club. The result, most often, is to send the ball in an unintended direction.

As stated earlier, and in accordance with the invention, thinking about, or focusing on the golf ball, is replaced with the mental image of pivot line PL. Next, the method asks the golfer to focus on an end goal of returning his hand line HL straight along this imaginary line. As shown in FIG. 2, pivot line PL is visualized as a perpendicular line 900 to the intended line of flight (target line TL). The pivot line plane PLP shown in FIG. 1 passes vertically beneath the ball across the target line, and provides a natural pivot plane axis for the body to turn around. In FIG. 2, this plane would extend into the paper from pivot line PL and orthogonal to the target line. Importantly, and unique to the method, neither target line TL nor golf ball B are an integral part of the golfer's mental awareness. Rather, the golfer is fully immersed in the idea of starting and returning the natural seam in his hands, hand line HL, straight along (into) pivot line PL, thus allowing his body to follow and turn into his backswing, as shown in FIG. 3, in a natural fashion. On the forward swing, instead of focusing on hitting the golf ball, or swinging along target line TL, it is now important that the golfer only think about, and feel, the swinging and returning his hand line HL straight along the pivot line. As shown in FIG. 2, what this means is that, at impact, hand line HL is substantially parallel to, and overlays pivot line PL. By reducing the golfer's active swing thoughts to this simple, easy to remember, thought, the inevitable tension associated hitting a golf ball (the “moment of impact”) is significantly reduced. By consistently applying this thought during a swing, it has been found that a golfer's swing naturally remains more relaxed and fluid, yet powerful, while producing more consistent results.

Concentrating on these simple reference lines has been found to naturally promote a better, more powerful stroke than otherwise is achieved. For teaching purposes, the pivot line PL is readily incorporated into various training aids such as the reminder sheet shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6 and which include the core visual lines, core body reference lines, and core swing tasks to which the golfer limits his concentration. By using one of the reminder sheets during practice, or actual play, a golfer can readily learn and reinforce the method of the invention because it helps him to focus on the core swing thoughts (goals). As the golfer learns to divert his attention from conventional swing mechanics to simple positive swing goals, he will immediately begin to experience what a proper swing feels like.

The method of the present invention is conveniently broken down or separated into two-phases. The first phase is the setup phase. As shown in FIG. 2, at address or setup, hand line HL is set to be even with pivot line PL or the pivot line plane PLP. The person's nose line NL is set behind the pivot line, and the person's right foot toe line FL is firmly planted.

The second phase of the method is the swing phase. As shown in the sequence of images of FIG. 5, the position of hand line HL changes throughout the backswing and forward swing as the club is moved first back and up and then forward and down. In each instance from address through to the impact position, nose line NL remains, at all times, behind the pivot line. Only after the hand line passes through the pivot line (i.e., the ball has been struck), and as hand line HL continues to the left and upwardly, does nose line NL pass the pivot line, as the head naturally releases toward the target.

Importantly, the advantages of the method of the invention, compared to traditional methods of teaching the golf swing is that all the complexities of the swing are reduced to four simple reference lines and two or three simple swing goals (swing thoughts). Again, these are the “pivot line” PL which the player can readily visualize as he addresses his ball, the “hand line” HL which the player can readily feel once he grips the club, the “nose line” NL which the player can readily sense and encourages him to maintain the proper relationship of his head to the ball, and the “toe line” FL by which the player can readily sense his weight transfer throughout the swing. Because the mind cannot focus on many things at once, reducing all the elements of the golf swing to these four elements frees up the golfer's mind so that he starts and stays in a naturally relaxed state during the entire swing, thus producing more desirable results.

Finally, below is a chart comparing conventional golf teaching instruction with the simplified instruction in accordance with the method of the present invention. As can be seen from the chart, all of the setup positions and swing mechanics associated with traditional teaching methods are reduced to a simple awareness of the pivot line, hand line, and nose line or foot line principles of the method.

Conventional Teaching vs. Golf's Magic Lines Conventional Golf Teaching Approach Golf's Magic Lines Approach ball position relative to the person's stance Pivot Line PL awareness body alignment and posture at address Nose Line NL awareness relative to PL how to grip a club Hand Line HL awareness relative to PL Athletic body stance throughout swing Foot Line FL awareness relative to HL + PL Back swing plane mechanics HL awareness relative to PL starting low and slow HL awareness relative to PL maintaining a one piece takeaway HL awareness relative to PL keep right elbow tucked in HL awareness relative to PL keep left arm straight HL awareness relative to PL shift weight to right side NL or FL awareness relative to PL swing club head along a good swing path HL awareness relative to PL forward swing plane mechanics HL awareness relative to PL start downswing with lower torso HL awareness relative to PL keep arms shoulders and hips in sync HL awareness relative to PL keep your eyes on the ball NL or FL awareness relative to PL keep your head behind the ball NL or FL awareness relative to PL focus on the moment of impact HL awareness relative to PL make sure club face returns square to ball HL awareness relative to PL finish balanced with weight on right side NL of FL awareness relative to PL

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects and advantages of the present invention have been achieved and other advantageous results have been obtained. 

1. A method of teaching a person how to effectively swing a golf club at a golf ball comprising: establishing a primary visual awareness a pivot line or vertical plane extending directly from the ball perpendicular to a target line extending from the ball to an intended target; establishing a primary feeling awareness specifically our right hand power hinge line formed by a seam created by the golfer's hands when gripping and swinging the club; and, establishing by feel awareness a nose line that relates the golfer's head-eyes position relative to the pivot line (ball), awareness of the nose line producing an awareness of the golfer's head position throughout his swing, the person maintaining his nose line behind the pivot line from their position at address until after the club has contacted the ball on the golfer's forward swing whereby, by not fully releasing their nose line until after their hand line passes through the pivot line at impact, the golfer is able to make a free, relaxed, and powerful swing without an undue amount of tension.
 2. The method of claim 1 further including establishing by feel awareness a foot line which helps the golfer's maintain proper weight transfer during his swing, the person maintaining his foot line from his position at address until after the club has contacted the ball on the golfer's forward swing whereby, by not releasing their foot line until after their hinge line passes through the pivot line at impact, the golfer is able to make a free, relaxed, and powerful swing without an undue amount of tension.
 3. The method of claim 1 in which the hand line can be used with any interlocking, overlapping, and baseball or ten finger golf club grip.
 4. The method of claim of claim 1 in which the pivot line corresponds to a natural plane about which a golfer's body turns or pivots during a golf swing.
 5. The method of claim 1 further including a teaching aid incorporating the various lines and their relationship to each other for use by a golfer during practice or play. 